[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 51 (Monday, March 31, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E624-E625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 31, 2003

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 
20th anniversary of Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, and to 
congratulate VOC for its two decades of working to enhance the beauty, 
accessibility and integrity of Colorado's parks, greenways and public 
lands.
  The work of VOC and its countless volunteers has benefited the entire 
state. Through countless thousands of hours of strenuous yet rewarding 
work, trails have been repaired, wheelchair ramps installed, trees 
planted and facilities constructed. The results have enhanced the 
outdoor experiences of visitors to Colorado's public lands splendor.
  Poll after poll shows that Americans believe that environmental 
protection and quality of life are high priorities. And just as many 
people believe themselves to be ``environmentalists.'' But too often, 
people lack a way to give practical expression to these views. VOC 
provides that opportunity.
  Participating in VOC activities is fun, easy and user-friendly. You 
don't need to be an expert, you don't need to know how to drive a 
tractor or a backhoe. All you need is a passion for the beauty and 
health of our surroundings--urban, suburban, in the mountains or on the 
plains--to participate. That, and a healthy willingness to get your 
hands and feet dirty.
  I am especially appreciative of VOC's legacy of active volunteerism 
because the values it engenders are needed now more than ever.
  Since I was first elected to Congress, I have visited high schools 
throughout Colorado's Second Congressional District. What I've heard 
from the young people I've met on these visits has reinforced my 
conviction that we need to provide them with opportunities to develop 
self-respect and a sense of accomplishment--because those experiences 
can be antidotes to much of the anger and alienation that can erupt 
into violence.
  Before entering public life, I headed the Colorado Outward Bound 
school. It provides challenging adventures, such as rappelling down a 
mountain, fording a rushing river and surviving alone in the 
wilderness. Outward Bound, not unlike Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, 
aims at teaching people to take care of themselves and then to work 
together. This allows each individual to develop self-reliance and in 
turn enables each team to accomplish their collective goals.
  I think these time-tested principles are very relevant to our search 
for ways to help our young people and our society. They aren't new--ask 
any good coach, teacher or VOC project leader--but they do work.
  Along those lines, I think we should try to afford more young people 
the chance to confront challenges, tap into personal reservoirs of 
resourcefulness, and pull together as a group. And in the West as 
nowhere else we have a way to provide those experiences--outdoors, on 
the public lands.
  That's why VOC and its projects benefit not only our young people, 
but people of all ages to get closer to the land and develop stronger 
ties to their communities, their families and themselves. That's also a 
major reason why I am a strong supporter of VOC and also why I have 
introduced legislation in the Congress to promote more volunteerism 
like the work of VOC--especially on our public lands.
  In just a couple of weeks, we will be celebrating Earth Day. VOC, and 
the work it does every day, demonstrates the very principles that Earth 
Day was designed to celebrate and encourage. Earth Day gives us a 
chance to take stock of where we are and where we are going in our 
relationship with this planet. In this spirit and in recognizing the 
continuing work of VOC and all it participants, I'd like to read 
something that was written by my uncle, Stewart Udall.
  As many of you know, Stewart was Secretary of the Interior under 
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. His book, the Quiet Crisis, was 
considered by many to be a precursor to

[[Page E625]]

the environmental beliefs that lead to the creation of the first Earth 
Day over 30 years ago. His book, like the work of VOC, opened the eyes 
of many as to what we are doing to the environment that sustains and 
enriches our lives. One passage that I think applies to the values of 
VOC reads:

       Each generation has its own rendezvous with the land, for 
     despite our fee titles and claims of ownership, we are all 
     brief tenants on this planet. By choice, or by default, we 
     will carve out a land legacy for our heirs. We can misuse the 
     land and diminish the usefulness of resources, or we can 
     create a world in which physical affluence and affluence of 
     the spirit go hand in hand.

  These words reflect the ethic that VOC invokes everyday--and I can 
think of no better way to mark its 20th anniversary. I wish VOC 
continued success for the next 20 years and beyond.

                          ____________________